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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27324457">Return of the Shepard</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhirlwindWolf94/pseuds/WhirlwindWolf94'>WhirlwindWolf94</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mass Effect Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon typical injuries, Canon-Typical Behavior, Established Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Explicit Language, No Shepard Without Vakarian, Shepard lives, descriptions of injuries</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 22:18:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,921</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27324457</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhirlwindWolf94/pseuds/WhirlwindWolf94</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>I wanted a proper reunion after that one-second breath, dammit! So I made one myself.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Return of the Shepard</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I based this Shepard off my own Paragon Shepard.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A Mass Effect Fanfic</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Jack</span> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>One week.</p><p>One whole fucking week since the final battle against the Reapers. We won. We fucking won. The entire galaxy is celebrating right now. Except us. The Normandy crew, both past and present, is still mourning. Shepard. That stupid old woman just had to go and blow herself up with that stupid machine. I didn't hear about it until the next day, when the Normandy parked itself in what was left of the Citadel's docking bay. Nobody was coming out, so I got pissed and stormed in there to give them a piece of my mind. And I saw the memorial wall. Everyone was gathered around it, Garrus leaning against it like he was about to be sick. Hell, I felt like I was, too. Seeing Shepard's name on that wall. . . Fuck.</p><p>It took Grunt literally picking Garrus up to get him to leave that spot. He really did love her, I guess. Like, <em>love </em>her. Damn, he was gonna fucking marry her, bought the ring and everything. Shit. Last I heard, he was holed up in Shepard's apartment. Stroke of luck that it survived. But everyone's been taking turns these last few days to stay with him. Making sure he didn't try to join her, I guess. I dunno, maybe we just didn't want anyone to be alone. Damnit, even I didn't want to be alone! I admit it, I miss the bitch! That crew, as infuriating as they could be, was my family. And Shepard was the head, standing strong to protect the galaxy and us. Which is why I'm digging though Crucible rubble right now. If I could just find her dog tags, maybe it could give Garrus some damn closure.</p><p>"Ma'am! I think I got something!" Rodriguez called from a few yards away, waving me over.</p><p>"About damn time!" I shouted, jumping over, "What is it?"</p><p>"Something's real shiny over there, Ma'am. Look."</p><p>She shined her flashlight into a pile of scrap and waved it around a little. I saw what she meant, most of the junk metal was dull, didn't catch the light. But I saw a real bright shine buried pretty deep down there. Like a polished coin or something. Like dog tags. Worth a shot.</p><p>"Okay, Rodriguez, stand back." I said, rolling my shoulders and powering up.</p><p>"Yes, Ma'am!"</p><p>As soon as she was clear, I shoved a fuck-ton of scrap out of the way. Oh, fuck. Yeah, they were dog tags, alright. But they were still attached to someone. Shit. Shaking my head, I made my way down to the body. This wasn't going to be pleasant, having to call up next-of-kin never is. Depending on who this is, I'm either going to get hysterical sobs or violent denial. Shit doesn't help anything. Only makes it worse. Anyway, who do we have--</p><p>"Shit." I muttered, taking a deep breath.</p><p>I wanted to find Shepard's tags, not her whole damn body. I half expected her to have been all burned up in that explosion. Well, at least we can have a proper funeral now. We'll have like a wake and every. . . thing. . . ? Am I going crazy, or did she just move? I haven't touched her---</p><p>"J-Ja-ack."</p><p>What the fuck?! Okay, my adrenaline's pumping now. With another push, I got the rest of the scrap off her. As soon as she was free, I looked her over. Right leg, definitely broken. Femur, too, ouch. Her clothes were ribbons. Scraped to hell and back where her skin showed. Her arms looked intact, but her right shoulder was slumped weird. There was blood everywhere, like her face was wrecked. Her eyes---</p><p><em>"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!"</em> I shouted, my eyes probably big as dinner plates, "RODRIGUEZ! GET THE MEDICS OVER HERE NOW!"</p><p>"What's going on, Ma'am?!"</p><p>"JUST DO AS I SAY!"</p><p>"Yes, Ma'am!"</p><p>This can't be real. This shit can't possibly be real, can it? Her eyes. Those impossibly blue eyes that always had that annoying glint in them when she was joking around. They were looking right at me. And they were <em>alive!</em> It really didn't sink in until I saw her mouth twitch like she wanted to smirk like she always did.</p><p>"Shepard! Holy fucking shit, you're alive! How the fuck are you alive?!" I admit I was fucking panicking a little while clearing the rest of the debris around her.</p><p>"Ha. . . Kn-knew you l-lo-oved m-e." Her voice was weak and it ended in a weak cough that brought up drops of blood.</p><p>"Shit, don't fucking talk, Shepard! Medics are on the way, we're gonna get you to a hospital! We're in Montreal, they're supposed to be good here, right?" I didn't know what else to fucking do, so I grabbed her hand. She squeezed back, but her grip was real weak.</p><p>"F-fre-ee."</p><p>"I just told you not to talk! Damn, woman, you're gonna fucking kill yourself! Again!"</p><p>"Ma'am! The medics are on their way down!" Rodriguez shouted, making me look around.</p><p>"Took 'em long enough! Just hurry!"</p><p>There were four medics making their way into our little crater with a gurney. Two Turians, a Salarian, and a Human. All wearing those damn freaky white jackets. They didn't waste any time, though, they immediately got to work stabilizing her so they could move her onto the gurney. I had to let go of her for a minute while they wrapped her arm up in a sling to keep her shoulder still. Damn, how the fuck is she still alive?! She's beaten to hell and back, broken to pieces and bloody. How did anyone doubt this woman could beat the fucking Reapers?</p><p>"Just stay awake for us, Ma'am. Can you do that? Just blink twice for yes, once for no." the Salarian asked her as the Turians lifted her onto the gurney.</p><p>Shepard blinked twice with as much of her smirk as she could manage with a neck brace on. Her hand twitched a bit toward me and I grabbed it in a second. She smiled a little more and looked around at the scrap around us. Her eyebrow quirked up and she looked back at me. She rolled her eyes. She fucking rolled her eyes. Still trying to put everyone else at ease while she was knocking on Death's fucking door. I got the hint, though. While the medics weren't touching her, I lifted her up as gently as I could with my biotics.</p><p>"Good idea. That'll keep her stable while we get her to even ground and we won't have to worry about jostling her while we climb." one of the Turians said, smiling. I think. I can't fucking tell with those mandibles.</p><p>"It was her fucking idea. She doesn't want us to worry. Damn you, Shep." I choked. I fucking choked. This damn woman.</p><p>It took a minute to get her to solid ground. I was so fucking paranoid that I was gonna bang her on shit. The one time I'm not 100% sure I was a master at my biotics, and it's because Shepard could die again if I wasn't. Fuck. But we got her to the part of the street we had cleared a few days ago, ready to load her into the ambulance. I left that part to the medics, they knew how to hook her up to IV's and shit.</p><p>"Shepard, I can't go with you in that thing. I gotta go get the others, alright? You better not fucking die before we get there! I'll kill you if you do!" I called from outside the ambulance.</p><p>I saw her hand twitch into a thumbs-up for a second before the doors closed. I booked it to my ride where Rodriguez was waiting with it already running.</p><p>"Ma'am! Was that really Shepard?!" she asked, hopping out.</p><p>"Fuck yeah, it was! I gotta go get everyone else, you make sure the team keeps clearing this away, alright? Trusting you here!" I called as I jumped into the driver's seat.</p><p>"Yes Ma'am! You can count on us! Let us know when she's cleared for visitors!"</p><p>"You got it!"</p><p>I was in the air before the hatch closed. I had to get to a shuttle so I could get to the Citadel. Then I had to fight my way through that damn strip to get to the apartments. I may or may not have broken a few driving regulations getting there. Maybe parked on top of a building. Probably knocked a few civvies over. I apologized! Damn, Shepard really did rub off on me. But I made it to the apartments. Just one elevator ride and I'll be there.</p><p>Garrus, you better fucking not've offed yourself before I could get there!</p><p> </p><p>~~~~~</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Garrus</strong> </span>
</p><p> </p><p>It's already been a week.</p><p>I think everyone's worried about me. I haven't been alone this whole time. Someone's always with me, they take turns. Everyone except Jack was here today. Scared I'll try to join her, huh? No, she'd be furious if I did that. Doesn't mean this had been easy. I miss her. Spirits, I miss her so much. I haven't been able to sleep since I came here. Not really. She's everywhere here. I never knew she painted. When did she have the time to paint portraits of everyone on her crew? She had a wall of portraits. They were all in silver-painted frames hung up in her lounge. Everyone who died, she had a silk spider lily stuck into a corner of the frame. You'd swear these were photos. I could tell love went into each and every stroke, she even captured the outline of Tali's face through her mask. We're gonna have to get one made of her and stick it up here. Right at the top. She would've hated that, she hates having her picture taken. Hated. Damn.</p><p>"Garrus? Have you eaten yet?" Liara called from the kitchen.</p><p>"Not hungry." I said, walking back to the couch and taking a seat.</p><p>"Come on, you gotta eat. It's been what, four days?" Wrex grumbled, leaning against the fireplace.</p><p>"I'm fine."</p><p>"You're not doin' her any kinda service by starvin' yourself, you know." Grunt growled, walking up to me.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"You know what Shepard would say if she were here? 'Garrus, you're bein' ridiculous, come and eat!' Just like that! Then she'd drag your ass to the kitchen and shove some damn food down your gullet if she needed to. She wouldn't want you starvin' yourself!"</p><p>"Don't you think I know that?! I know what she'd say to everything I do, what face she'd make, even how she'd stand! Don't you dare think I don't!" I growled back, practically jumping to my feet.</p><p>"Then why don't you respect her memory by keepin' yourself alive! You know, like what she died doin'?! Don't you think we feel it, too?! Damnit, Shepard was the closest thing to a ma I've ever had! Hell, I even called her 'Ma' in our downtime! You don't think I'm not feeling her loss just as hard?!"</p><p>I haven't even thought of that. It's true, Shepard was like a mother to Grunt. She took care of him since she got him out of that tank. She always called him "her boy." And leaving him to deal with that Rachni infestation. . . Javik and I had to practically drag her out of those caves. And she didn't leave his side in the hospital for almost two days until he kicked her out. Not really, but he reminded her she needed to be there for the rest of the galaxy and promised her he'd be alright. Which he was. Alright enough to go on a buzzed rampage across the Citadel and steal a C-Sec car while it was on fire. And she wasn't even angry with him. She made him apologize, yeah, but the way she told me about it. . . She sounded like a doting mother talking about her son's latest adventure.</p><p>"I. . . I'm sorry. I didn't even think-"</p><p>"It's fine. We're all feelin' exactly what you are, Garrus. Come on, I'm sure Kaidan can whip up something you can eat." Grunt said, draping an arm around my shoulder and walking me to the kitchen.</p><p>"Yeah, of course! C'mon, whaddaya feel like? Got some dextro coffee brewin' and how about some bacon and eggs? Easy on an empty stomach." Kaidan rambled, pouring a mug for me and busying himself around the kitchen.</p><p>"Sure."</p><p>Right. Shepard wouldn't want us to just mope around and grieve. Hell, she didn't get a chance to grieve for the people she loved. Ashley, Mordin, Thane, Legion, Anderson. . . She never had the time to mourn. She had to do so in her own way, really. I caught her a few times back on the original Normandy, stuffed in a corner and breathing through her hands to try and stop a sob from breaking through. She grew up in such a harsh setting. Living on the streets since before she could remember, having to fend for herself and a group of other kids she'd found. Protecting them from the local gangs and thugs, finding them food. . . She's been protecting people her whole life, I guess. We've met a few of those kids, practically all grown up and with families. Spirits, they talk about her like she was their big sister. I guess she kind of was. But she could never show any kind of weakness in those days. That meant she couldn't cry. It was a hard condition to break.</p><p>The first time I saw her shed a tear was when she came back from the original Normandy's crash site. She had been in her full armor to keep warm, but her comm was switched off. I didn't like that at first, what if she had gotten into trouble? But the planet was a barren wasteland of ice and snow. She was fine in the end. Physically. She was freezing, of course, but that wasn't why she was shaking when she got back to the ship. She was clutching a small box in a death grip and headed straight to her cabin with it. I got worried, of course, so I went to check on her. And that was when I saw her break down for the first time ever. She was sitting on her little couch, the little box clutched to her chest, sobbing quietly. Her hair was hiding her face, so I didn't see the tears at first. But when I got closer and she looked up at me. . . The only thing I could think of was to sit with an arm around her until she fell asleep on my shoulder. It wasn't until our next trip to the Citadel that I learned that the little box held the original crew's dog tags. She had nearly frozen herself to death and reopened that barely-healed wound to give their families closure. That's who she was. Maybe we should've called <em>her</em> Archangel.</p><p>"Garrus? Your food is ready, dear." Samara said, gently patting my shoulder.</p><p>"Oh. Right. Thanks."</p><p>"Any time, man." Kaidan choked, trying for a smile.</p><p>I had just picked up a fork when something crashed through the front door. Well, not really through it, but as soon as the door opened, there was a blast of biotic energy that rattled the whole apartment.</p><p>"What the hell?!" Zaeed exclaimed, shaking his head.</p><p>"Garrus! Where the fuck is Garrus!"</p><p>Jack stood in the middle of the lounge, still glowing from that blast. She was. . . pale? Woah, what happened that could've scared <em>her?</em></p><p>"Jack? What's wrong?" I asked, getting to my feet.</p><p>"Garrus! Fuck, man, you're not gonna believe this!" she said, jogging over.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"I was in Montreal, y'know, helping the students clear the wreckage from the Crucible. I was lookin' for Shepard's tags, her dog tags."</p><p>"Ah. Well, where are they?"</p><p>"Still around her neck!"</p><p>". . . What?"</p><p>"Garrus, I did better than find her tags, I found <em>her!</em>"</p><p>"I. . . See. . . Well, I. . . I suppose they need us to claim her. . . her body."</p><p>"No! No, Garrus, I didn't find her body, I found <em>her!</em>"</p><p>"What do you-"</p><p>
  <em>"SHE'S ALIVE! SHEPARD'S FUCKING ALIVE!"</em>
</p><p>My heart stopped.</p><p>I'm not joking, it stopped.</p><p>Wrex had to practically catch me when my knees gave out. Jack helped set me back on my feet and held me there for a moment before I could say or do anything.</p><p>"What. Did you. Say?"</p><p>"Shepard's alive! She's beaten to hell and back, but she's alive! She was taken to Montreal General Hospital."</p><p>I don't know what came over me. I rushed forward and wrapped Jack in a bone-cracking hug.</p><p>"Thank you. Thank you, Jack."</p><p>"Ah, leggo, you overgrown birdbrain. If we leave now, she could be out of surgery by the time we get there! Come on, move your asses!"</p><p>"We're taking the Normandy, no if's and's or but's!" Joker called, staggering to his feet.</p><p>And we were off. I'm sure we all looked insane, a small platoon rushing out of one apartment and swarming the rapid travel station. But at the moment, we didn't give a damn. We got to the docks in record time and got the Normandy airborne just as quick. I was pacing the CIC the entire time, chewing on one of my talons. A bad habit I picked up from Shepard. Whenever she was stressed or thinking real hard about something, she'd gnaw on the nail on her thumb. That's really the only reason she kept them long. If it wasn't her nail, it'd be her skin.</p><p>"Garrus, please calm down. Shepard isn't going anywhere." Tali said, gripping my arm.</p><p>"I can't calm down. What if we get there and she. . ." I couldn't finish my sentence.</p><p>"She'll make it, Scars. Hell, she survived the Crucible exploding, re-entry into Earth's atmosphere with the wreckage, and a week buried in a shit-ton of scrap metal. If she survived all that already, she's not about to leave us now." James chimed in, thumping me on the back, "Now just breathe, okay?"</p><p>I took a deep breath. James was right, she'll at least hang on long enough for us to see her. . . No, not thinking like that. She'll hang on for the next forty or fifty years. I'll make sure of it.</p><p>"Okay, we're landing! I gave them a heads-up that Shepard's crazy Turian boyfriend is inbound!" Joker called over the comms as he set the Normandy down.</p><p>No need to make a liar out of our pilot. I was out the doors before they could even fully open. We had landed on a tarmac near the emergency room entrance, leaving me a bit of a run to get there. But I still made it into the lobby before the others got halfway to the entrance. Thankfully, the reception nurses were prepared for a crazed Turian to come barreling in.</p><p>"Sir, are you with the Normandy crew?" an Asari nurse asked, already typing something in.</p><p>"Yes. I'm Garrus Vakarian. Do you think you can get someone to meet our pilot outside with a wheelchair? He's got Vrolik Syndrome." I panted, walking up to the counter and leaning on it.</p><p>"Oh dear. Yes, of course! Amanda, could you go do that, please?" the nurse, Eshana according to her nametag, asked a human next to her.</p><p>"Of course."</p><p>"Thank you, dear. Now, you're here to see Commander Winter Shepard, correct?"</p><p>"Yes Ma'am. Please. Please tell me she's alright." I pleaded, my hands shaking again.</p><p>"Only time will really tell. But she's stable. Surgery went textbook perfectly, she'll have to stay here for a while until she can chew without pain and sit up unassisted without getting dizzy. Just a hairline fracture in her jaw, nothing medi-gel can't fix in about a week. Her right femur, ribs, and collarbone were really the worst of her injuries. All either broken or cracked. But she's responding well to the antibiotics and painkillers. She'll have some scarring, no doubt about that, but I assume she's not bothered by that. Given her medical history, I have full confidence she'll make a full recovery in a year or less."</p><p>The others arrived just in time to see me collapse to my knees, clutching the counter. I heard the other nurse, Amanda, rush over to me and ask if I was alright. It sounded like I was under water, to be honest. I've never felt this level of relief before in my life. Only thing close to it was when I heard my father and sister were safe. The others were talking to Eshana now, probably getting the same information I got.</p><p>"Mr. Vakarian? Would you like to see her?"</p><p>That brought me back. I was back on my feet before I even thought about it. I'm sure I looked like a lost. . . what was that thing Shepard told me about. . . a puppy? I don't know, don't care right now.</p><p>"What did you say?" I asked, admittedly pretty stupid.</p><p>"Would you like to see her? She's been in her room for about two hours now. She woke up not too long ago. I'm sure she would love to see you." the nurse said, patting my hand.</p><p>"Please. I need to see her."</p><p>"Amanda, dear, would you be so kind?"</p><p>"Of course, Ma'am. Right this way, sir. The rest of you can come along, too." Amanda said, smiling.</p><p>"Thank you. Thank you so much."</p><p>I was babbling until we all reached the elevators. We had to split up between two, but we were getting there. We were going to see her. Damn, how tall is this building? Were we going to the top floor? Evidently. It took way too long to get there, that's for sure. Jack, Grunt, Tali, Javik, and Liara were with me in this elevator and they were all either visibly anxious or keeping a hand on me. Did they think I was about to climb the rest of the way up the elevator shaft? I'm not that insane. Besides, we got there eventually. Then Amanda was leading us to the far corner of the top floor. A long-term suite, huh? Shepard isn't going to like that, she'll be climbing the walls after a day.</p><p>"Here we are. There's room for everyone, but it may be best if you staggered your entrances. You know, so she doesn't get overwhelmed or try to get up to greet you all at once." the nurse said, changing the color of a screen next to the door from blue to purple.</p><p>"Yeah, that's fine. As long as Garrus is the first one in." Grunt muttered, nudging me toward the door.</p><p>"Of course. Well, the room's yours. Just don't stress her too much and try to keep her from fidgeting with her bandages. She's been doing that since she woke up."</p><p>"Sounds like my girl. Okay. Thank you so much." I said, giving her shoulder a squeeze.</p><p>She smiled and walked away. Guess it's now or never. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and stepped into the room. Sterile white walls and huge bay windows that take up the entire far wall. But I zeroed in on the bed. She was there. Her right leg was suspended in a hammock thing and her right arm was in a sling to keep her shoulder still. Her arms and legs were completely covered in bandages. From what Jack told us about how beat up she was, I assume her torso is the same. There was a thick patch of gauze under her right eye, her lips were split so bad they had to stitch them, same with the bridge of her nose and across her left eyebrow. They were all covered with that weird liquid bandage stuff Dr. Chakwas uses on scrapes.</p><p>But her eyes were open and she was alert. She looked over when the door opened and I saw a smile spread from ear to ear. Her eyes welled up and she let out a relieved little laugh.</p><p>"Garrus."</p><p>That did it. I rushed over and grabbed the hand she was holding out to me. I did my best to keep my grip gentle, but I was shaking again. I just kept that hand pressed to my face as I leaned down to rest my forehead on hers. If a few tears fell onto her face, they were happy ones. She was alive. She was here. I had her back.</p><p>"Shepard. Spirits, I missed you. I thought you were dead. I'm so sorry, baby." I muttered, pretty much collapsing into the chair next to the bed.</p><p>"Shh. Garrus, it's alright. <em>I</em> can't even believe I survived that. Guess I really am too stubborn to eat it. Babe, it's okay." she smiled, stroking my face with her thumb.</p><p>"It's not okay, Shepard! You've already died once, we thought we lost you again! You sent me away. You hardly ever leave me behind. We can't. . . <em>I</em> can't go through that again. I love you too much."</p><p>"Heh. I'm still amazed it took another suicide mission to get you to actually say that."</p><p>"Shepard."</p><p>"I know. Sorry. Force of habit. Garrus, I'm so sorry. It was me or the galaxy there at the end. I had to make a choice. The Reapers won't be a threat ever again. We've stopped the cycle. We can go back to worrying about the little things like smugglers and dirty cops. Though I think my days in the field are over. Don't look at me like that, Garrus. My ribs were cracked, leg broken, collarbone snapped, and all that's gonna take up to a year to heal. The Council would be crazy to put me back out in the field after this. I think it would be kinda nice to settle down a little. Relax."</p><p>"Yeah, like you could ever just sit around at home and relax. But I'm right there with you. I don't ever want anything like this to happen again. I love you, Winter Shepard. And I don't think I'm strong enough to lose you again."</p><p>"Are you really choosing now to pop the question?"</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>"EDI sent me the receipt after you bought the ring. She was excited."</p><p>"Damn. Well, I was planning on asking once the war was over and everything settled down. Maybe over dinner. Had a whole speech rehearsed and everything. I don't have the ring on me right now, but you mind if I ask anyway?"</p><p>"Shoot."</p><p>"Ehem. Commander Winter Marie Shepard. I love you. More than I could ever find the words for. The day you brought me aboard the Normandy was the best day of my life, even if I didn't know it at the time. We've been through Ilos, the Collector Base, and the war with the Reapers together. And all those times, you've been there watching my back while still protecting the galaxy. There is no one I admire more in this universe than you. And I would officially be the luckiest man in said universe if I could spend the rest of my days by your side. So, Shepard, love of my life, will you marry me?"</p><p>"It's about time. Yes, Garrus. Nothing would make me happier."</p><p>Damn, we both had tears running down our faces now. With a laugh, we leaned in for a kiss right as a cheer rang from the hallway. Over the next few minutes, the others filed in to see her. Grunt surprised me, actually, he didn't even make her wince when he hugged her. Jack perched herself on the end of the bed, keeping up a string of reprimands for scaring us. But Shepard took it all in stride. And Javik, predictably, bombarded us with "in his cycle" anecdotes. It was so good to see her smile again, the one that just lit up the room. We're gonna have to start planning soon. I know she'll want to start right away, but her personal army and I are prepared to make her focus on healing. She's got a broken femur and she's already talking with the girls about whether to wear a dress or her uniform. Well, it won't matter to me. I have her back. As long as it's her, she could be wearing a trash bag and it would be perfect.</p><p>We just kept conversation going until nightfall. Her nurse did come in a few times to either check on that jaw fracture or bring her some food. The medi-gel worked wonders in just a few hours, she could eat some soft fish and vegetables. They were still going to keep her for up to a week for observation, but the nurse said she was definitely going to make a near-full recovery in a few months. He also brought in some cots for us to sleep on, probably sensing that nobody wanted to leave Shepard. I kept my place in the chair beside the bed, I couldn't let go of her hand. She's still got a lot of healing to do and she definitely won't be going anywhere alone for a while. But she's here. I love this woman. Huh. Guess we can't really keep calling her Shepard after the wedding, can we? Will she want to change her name? Hm. Winter Vakarian. . . Sounds weird. Winter Shepard-Vakarian. That sounds better, I'll have to run that by her in the morning. I was actually just about to nod off myself until something else burst to the front of my mind.</p><p>I gotta call my dad.</p>
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